A promising vaccine against cancer

The results of a major study published on Thursday by the pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck showed that a cancer vaccine, the first of its kind, significantly reduces the chances of tumors returning in melanoma patients.

Big victory

The vaccine has been developed specifically for each patient to match his or her specific tumor. Adding it to standard post-surgical treatment reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence by 42% two years after surgery, according to the most advanced study to date of this new anti-cancer strategy.

“This field was looking for a victory, and I think this victory is very big,” said Dr. Hussein Toby of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, one of the researchers on the international study.

It is noteworthy that the people who received the vaccine in the study also suffered from side effects that doctors attributed to the treatment. Fever was the most common symptom. In addition to fatigue and pain at the injection site, according to the German “T-Online” website.

The vaccine, called Entis Miran, is made using the same Nobel Prize-winning messenger RNA technology behind the Covid-19 vaccines.

Experimental personalized cancer vaccines made with messenger RNA technology and some other methods are also currently being trialed against other types of cancer, including lung, kidney and pancreatic cancer.

"scientific breakthrough"

Experts who were not involved in the new study believe that its success advances this field. “These are new frontiers,” said Karen Knudsen, CEO of the Parker Institute, which helps fund cancer immunotherapy research.

“This is a paradigm shift for science and oncology, because this vaccine is applicable to so many different types of cancer,” said Dr. Michael Atkins, deputy director of Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The German newspaper "The Zeit" also quoted Selma Ogurel, head of the dermatology department at Bielefeld University Hospital, as saying that the results of the study "represent a scientific breakthrough."

Also, the results are “amazing,” said Ralf Gottsmer, director of dermatology at the Johannes Wesselsing University Hospital in Minden. He added that the additional benefit was achieved with relatively limited side effects.

Complex manufacturing process

On the other hand, The Zeit newspaper reported that the pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck intend to apply for approval to use the vaccine. If approved, it will be the first cancer vaccine using liquefied RNA technology to receive a license.

She added that the manufacturing process is very complex, as a vaccine must be produced individually for each patient. Carola Berking, director of the Dermatology Clinic at the University Hospital in Erlangen, was quoted as saying: “Logistical complexities and strict manufacturing standards make the treatment very expensive, with prices exceeding 300,000 euros per patient already being traded.”

“Therefore, it is difficult to envision it being widely available from a healthcare economics perspective,” she added.